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Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) vs SUSE Linux Enterprise comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 7, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Red Hat Enterprise Linux (R...
Ranking in Operating Systems (OS) for Business
1st
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
263
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
SUSE Linux Enterprise
Ranking in Operating Systems (OS) for Business
5th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
31
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2025, in the Operating Systems (OS) for Business category, the mindshare of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is 11.8%, down from 12.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SUSE Linux Enterprise is 8.4%, down from 9.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Operating Systems (OS) for Business
 

Featured Reviews

Bruce Lundberg - PeerSpot reviewer
Reliable patch management, high uptime, and incredible knowledge base
In terms of security, it does a lot of things that most people still turn off. SELinux is turned on by default. They have pretty good firewall rules in their defaults. The audit rules always take tweaking, but, overall, it comes out of the box not too bad. I used to write scripts to harden them from there. There are multiple ways to provision and patch. You have everything from local repositories to doing it by hand. Their knowledge base is incredible. There is so much information out there. It has never taken me longer than 30 minutes to find an answer to anything, even very tough ones. One company I worked for was a security company, and we did a lot of patching on everything. It was designed around security and email hosting, and uptime was pretty much whatever we wanted it to be. I have had a couple of times when the uptime was bad, but it was caused by a third-party solution. In fact, the Norton antivirus was definitely the worst. Red Hat had nothing to do with it.
Dominique Locksley - PeerSpot reviewer
Has good kernel modules and upgrades
I like how the tool handles kernel modules and upgrades - we rarely have issues after upgrades, unlike with other Linux distributions like Oracle Linux or Ubuntu. The kernel module management is excellent. Changes made in one version typically work the same in other versions too, which isn't always the case with other distributions. There's also lots of information and community support available if you run into any problems, both on the official website and in forums and user groups. I know many people who use it specifically, so it's easy to get independent support if needed. I've been working with the tool for a long time, since 2003, before they became SUSE Linux Enterprise. It's always been one of the most admin-friendly Linux versions.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"The most valuable aspect of Red Hat Enterprise Linux is its ease of management."
"The most valuable feature of Red Hat Enterprise Linux is its comprehensive ecosystem."
"The most significant advantage is that it is more stable and secure than other operating systems."
"I like the flexibility RHEL offers in terms of permissions. The patch management is much shorter and easier."
"I prefer it to Windows because of the level of configuration, level of control, and the ability to see the performance of processes on a given system. I prefer the control over logging and the ability that logging gives you to investigate a problem."
"RHEL makes patching and scripting much easier, and it provides all the features I need for patching and VM updates."
"The most valuable features of the solution are in the areas of stability and scalability."
"The most valuable features of Red Hat Enterprise Linux are the mobile applications and getting real-time notifications."
"The most valuable features of the solution are patching and the BTRFS file system."
"SUSE Linux's most valuable feature is the documentation - there is a lot of documentation about how to create custom servers."
"I like how the tool handles kernel modules and upgrades - we rarely have issues after upgrades, unlike with other Linux distributions like Oracle Linux or Ubuntu. The kernel module management is excellent. Changes made in one version typically work the same in other versions too, which isn't always the case with other distributions. There's also lots of information and community support available if you run into any problems, both on the official website and in forums and user groups. I know many people who use it specifically, so it's easy to get independent support if needed. I've been working with the tool for a long time, since 2003, before they became SUSE Linux Enterprise. It's always been one of the most admin-friendly Linux versions."
"It's easy to set up."
"From a functionality perspective, the suite is quite rich. We like that."
"The solution is easy to use, secure and allows for simple manipulation."
"The solution offers a secure operation system."
"YaST simplifies the server management of SUSE allowing for a centralized utility to control most of the server functions."
 

Cons

"Red Hat Enterprise Linux has affected our HA systems in a negative way. We're working through some of those issues."
"There are some things that we've seen from RHEL that have given us a little bit of consternation. Their IdM product could be improved greatly. It would be great if they had some type of application built in that would let you do whitelisting for applications. On the government side, for zero trust, that's becoming very important. We're currently using a third-party solution, and it's tough to get it to match up because anytime the kernel changes, you have to match the software to the kernel."
"This solution could be improved if it was easier to set up and run in cloud environments. It can also be costly to manage a large OpenShift environment."
"The bootup time for Red Hat Enterprise Linux running on physical hardware in the data center can be improved. We have seen cloud-based Red Hat Enterprise Linux, and it is instantaneous. You wait for a few seconds, and the operating system is up and running. It is a lot faster, whereas it takes a very long time when running Red Hat Enterprise Linux on physical hardware."
"The cost could be lower. Red Hat is considered a costly solution. It can be expensive if you want all the features in the license. A cheaper license would make Red Hat more accessible to a broader range of users."
"I really think that the upgrade policies between the major versions, like from from RHEL 5 to RHEL 6, should be much easier, similar to what is in place for upgrading from RHEL 6 to RHEL 6.8."
"The price is something that can be improved, as they are still being undercut."
"Servers: More applications for monitoring (e.g., nmon)."
"I don't like the frequency of updates, especially if they're only from the vendor."
"The solution is expensive."
"In the next release it would be nice to see more integration and better automation of processses."
"I have not seen an ROI with this solution."
"I would appreciate the product's future releases being lighter and operating more efficiently on smaller systems."
"The only stability issues that I can recall encountering with SUSE would be with KDE. However, that is limited to just the desktop environment as I have not had stability issues with ​most server functions."
"I would like to see better functionality for interacting with cloud-based systems."
"The initial setup could be simplified."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I do not know the overall cost, but I know that Red Hat is cheaper than Windows."
"We are a huge VMware shop. Our licensing cost works well with Red Hat. We license based on the data center. The way our license works is that we can run as many Red Hat VMs as we want and pay for a single license. On the VMware side, we gain a lot, and it makes much more sense."
"We still have a few with one-to-one standard server licensing, but we are utilizing the virtualization host licensing. We license it based on the host, not based on VMs, which is cool. I was very happy that there was certain licensing with SAP to have access to SAP repos. Its cost was the same as the regular one, so I was happy about that."
"My company has acquired five to ten licenses from Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)."
"The setup cost is non-existent. With licensing, there was a little snafu because I misread something. There was a slight learning curve because we use virtual data center licensing. We had to understand how it all maps. We had to understand how that mapping works when the hypervisors are Red Hat or VMware. There is a slight learning curve, but it worked out. It ends up being easy."
"Its pricing and licensing are reasonable."
"We purchased the Red Hat Enterprise Linux license via Azure and the vendor."
"The licensing is a bit odd because we need to procure the licenses from a third party."
"SUSE Linux Enterprise is reasonably priced compared to other operating systems. I find it's a much better option for us than Oracle, for example, because of the pricing structure. The pricing is easier to explain to clients and makes it easier to get clients' commitment. The licensing is also simpler to manage and keep track of. Their responsiveness is great - they give feedback very quickly when we ask questions about licensing or other aspects. This helps ensure we're always at the gold standard regarding licensing and everything related to SUSE Linux Enterprise."
"The tool is expensive compared to Red Hat. I rate its pricing a nine out of ten."
"The product's licensing options align well with the evolving landscape of Linux variants."
"There is no license for this solution, there is only a subscription of support available."
"I rate the product price an eight on a scale of one to ten, where one is a low price, and ten is a high price."
"Regarding pricing, everybody would want it to be cheaper."
"The price of SUSE Linux Enterprise could be cheaper. Other solutions, such as"
"Anyone can use Linux because it is open-source."
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Comparison Review

it_user281973 - PeerSpot reviewer
Aug 24, 2017
It's improved our company's system environments that run Oracle databases.
Red Hat is mission critical to our environment Red Hat has improved the mission critical environments running Oracle databases, while CentOS has improved our web environment and MySQL. Oracle and SAP Environment and all HPC environments. 10 years No issues Very stable i don´t find any problem…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Government
9%
Computer Software Company
15%
Manufacturing Company
13%
Government
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

Which would you choose - RHEL (Red Hat Enterprise Linux) or CentOS?
Red Hat Enterprise Linux is fantastic. It is an inexpensive solution that has excellent security, performance, and stability, and also lots of features. I specifically like that the solution has fe...
What do you like most about Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)?
It is open source. We can customize it as per our requirements.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)?
I do not have any insights, but I know why the prices went up. At the time, it made sense. I do not know what the pricing is like now. Previously, the pricing model was advantageous as it allowed u...
What do you like most about SUSE Linux Enterprise?
The initial setup is simple and takes five minutes for deployment and if you have automation in place, it will take four minutes.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SUSE Linux Enterprise?
The pricing is slightly higher than expected, but it is manageable for our current project. For the upcoming projects, we are looking for cost-effective solutions.
What needs improvement with SUSE Linux Enterprise?
Sometimes it is a bit of work for developers to change the configurations. Some kernels will not fit with some packages, and this aspect could be improved. Furthermore, the system's rigidity when u...
 

Also Known As

Red Hat Enterprise Linux, RHEL
No data available
 

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Overview

 

Sample Customers

Travel Channel, Mohawk Industries, Hilti, Molecular Health, Exolgan, Hotelplan Group, Emory University, BlueCross BlueShield of North Carolina, HCA Healthcare, Paychex, UPS, Intermountain Healthcare, Brinker International, TransUnion, Union Bank, CA Technologies
Air India, Akademicki Szpital Kliniczny (ASK), Allone, Altran, Apollo, ARCHIVA, Asia Innovatory Management School, ATLAS ELEKTRONIK GmbH, AutoData Norge AS, Baldor Electric, Business Connexion, CASIO, Ciclum Farma, Delta Lloyd, Edumate , HPE,  SAP SE,  Lenovo, BMW, T-Systems, UCX, Turners & Growers, Shenzhen Development Bank, Bosch Group, JK Tyres & Industries, IOCL, European Space Agency, Daimler AG, China Minsheng Banking Corp, Café Coffee Day, Unisys,  Petrochina Company Ltd, Fitch Ratings, ABeam Consulting Co Ltd, Tyro Payments, Rackspace, Pacific Textiles, ...
Find out what your peers are saying about Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) vs. SUSE Linux Enterprise and other solutions. Updated: December 2024.
831,158 professionals have used our research since 2012.